Residents said modifications were made to the structure over the years

Thane: A 12-year-old boy was crushed to death, while his mother and his nine-year-old brother sustained head injuries after a portion of their nearly 30-year-old one-storey tenement collapsed on them in a chawl in Thane’s Azad Nagar on Friday.The mother, Urmila Jaiswar (35), and her younger son, Vinit, were rushed to hospital and were reported to be stable.The boys—Jaykumar and Vinit—had returned home from school and were resting after lunch while Urmila was on her phone when they heard a creak. Within seconds, the ceiling collapsed, trapping the trio beneath the debris. Their father was away at work at a sweet shop.Local Shiv Sena corporator Meenakshi Shinde, who was among the first to reach the spot, said a section of the tenement’s extended cantilever balcony crashed onto the rented room occupied by the Jaiswar family. A few residents alleged that structural modifications had been carried out to the building a few years ago and some repairs were undertaken recently. The structure may not have been able to withstand the extensions and must have weakened during the rains, said residents. Civic officials said the exact cause of the collapse is under investigation.Urmila and Vinit, recovering in hospital, remained unaware of Jaykumar’s death and repeatedly asked neighbours about his condition. “We haven’t told them yet,” a neighbour said.Mayor Sharmila Pimpalolkar, who visited the site and the family, directed civic officials to immediately evacuate adjoining structures as a precautionary measure and ensure that the medical expenses of the injured are borne by the civic body.The death came two days after deputy CM Eknath Shinde declared “zero tolerance” towards rain-related mishaps in Thane and directed civic authorities to take immediate corrective measures wherever required. With the Friday tragedy, the toll from rain-related incidents in Thane rose to three in the last 10 days. A teenage girl from Mumbra was electrocuted during heavy rain last week, while a 64-year-old plumber died on Thursday after a tree fell on him.

Heavy police deployment during Ramesh Mhatre’s production in court triggered allegations of ‘VIP treatment’ from lawyers

Kalyan: A day after rejecting police’s plea to produce him via video conferencing on the grounds of ill health, a court on Friday sent Shiv Sena’s Kalyan-Dombivli corporator Ramesh Mhatre to police custody till Monday for the alleged assault of two doctors and nurses of a civic-run hospital in Dombivli over a purported delay in treatment of a pregnant patient.The court directed the investigating officer to ensure that he undergoes a medical examination by a govt doctor every eight hours.Police also got custody of Mhatre’s three supporters, who were arrested in the case, till Monday.Mhatre was brought to the Kalyan court on Friday afternoon after being discharged from Thane Civil Hospital, where he had been admitted following complaints of hypertension and elevated blood sugar levels hours after his arrest on Wednesday. The court directed police on Thursday to produce him in person.During the hearing, the prosecution sought seven days of police custody, saying investigators needed to record the statements of all the accused, establish their individual roles, analyse CCTV footage and collect additional evidence.Mhatre’s counsel, A Y Patki, said he went to the civic hospital only after receiving repeated calls from the patient’s husband alleging a delay in treatment. The defence said he visited the hospital to assist the patient’s family and had no intention of assaulting anyone. Patki said the 72-year-old corporator has only one kidney and has hypertension, diabetes and prostate-related ailments, and sought appropriate medical care during his custody.Heavy police security was deployed in and around the court premises during Mhatre’s production. The arrangements led to protests from lawyers, who alleged that police gave the corporator “VIP treatment”. Advocate Pradip Bawiskar claimed that police personnel shoved lawyers, prevented them from approaching the courtroom and warned them to vacate the area, allegedly threatening to book them for obstructing public servants if they did not comply. He alleged that despite several high-profile criminal cases being heard at the court in the past, he had never witnessed such elaborate security arrangements for an accused.